Chapter 33: Just Understand a Little

Liu Zhao was about to ask about Wang Yang's family background in detail, but heard Wang Yang say: "Today we only discuss academics, not family background."

Liu Zhao was overjoyed; Wang Yang's words were exactly to his taste: "Good, only discuss academics! Then I ask—"

Yu Yuling said hurriedly: "Since we are only discussing academics, I ask Young Master Wang to uphold the public heart of academics and not deceive with victory or defeat—"

Liu Zhao's face sank, and he stopped his disciple: "Zijie!"

Wang Yang was confused: "When did I want to deceive with victory or defeat?"

Yu Yuling's words were cold: "Although Young Master Wang is entrusted by others, he should also—"

"No, wait! Who am I entrusted by?" Wang Yang wanted to befriend Liu Zhao, so he had to clear up the misunderstanding before this.

"Aren't you entrusted by the Wang Guan School?" Yu Yuling was stunned.

"Of course not! I heard that Mr. Liu is specialized in the *Book of Documents*, so I came to discuss learning. What does it have to do with the Wang Guan School?"

Wang Yang finally understood that Yu Yuling's various difficulties outside the door earlier were because he had mistaken him for someone from the Wang Guan School. It seems the contradiction between the Wang Guan School and the Commandery School is not small.

Liu Zhao and Yu Yuling were overjoyed to hear that Wang Yang admitted he had nothing to do with the Wang Guan School! Xie Xinghan, who was hiding behind the screen, also breathed a sigh of relief.

Yu Yuling was full of joy: "I said that with Young Master Wang's family background and talent, how could he be so unable to distinguish right from wrong?! It was my rudeness before, and I apologize to you now!" He immediately bowed neatly to Wang Yang.

Wang Yang did not mind and returned the bow: "Easy to say."

Yu Yuling said again: "Teacher, then I also have a question to ask. Earlier Young Master Wang said Zheng Xuan's commentary on the *Xiao Situ* says: Complete, settled also. Then the *Xiao Situ* is..."

"The *Xiao Situ* is in the *Zhou Rites, Earth Official*. You have not mastered the Three Rites, so don't worry about it for now. Wei Zhao's commentary on the *Guoyu* also has this entry; you can check it yourself," Liu Zhao said quickly.

Wang Yang thought to himself that this person is indeed a master of classic learning; he didn't even know this entry in the *Guoyu*.

Yu Yuling asked again: "Then the *Book of Documents Kao Ling Yao* is—"

"This is a Han Dynasty apocryphal book. Your learning is not enough, so don't interrupt for now. Write down the question first, and I will answer it for you later," Liu Zhao said, looking at Wang Yang impatiently: "Young Master Wang, shall we continue?"

"At the beginning of the *Kang Gao* chapter, from 'Wei San Yue Zai Sheng Po' to 'Nai Hong Da Gao Zhi' forty-eight characters, all are the text of the *Luo Gao*, and should be moved before 'Zhou Gong Bai Shou Ji Shou' in the *Luo Gao*. How do I know this? Zhou Gong conquered the east, and it took two years to pacify Guan and Cai, then enfeoffed Kang Shu, and returned to the throne in seven years, and built Luo in the year of returning to the throne, so at the time of enfeoffing Kang Shu, Luo was definitely not built. Therefore, I know this paragraph is a mistake in the compilation of later generations, disrupting the original text."

"What is 'Dao Shan'? Dao, path also. The path of the road. The *Records of the Grand Historian* cites the *Yu Gong*, using this 'Dao' character. Because of the path people travel, looking at its direction, measuring the distance of the path, so it is called 'Dao.' Therefore, it also says 'Kan Lü.' What is Kan Lü? Kan, marking also. Lü, listing also. Marking and listing, this is the ancient method of measuring distance!"

"'Tian Jiang Ge Yu Wo Jia Bu Shao, Yan Hong Wei Wo You Chong Ren.' This is the failure of former scholars to punctuate! Saying 'Bu Shao' means describing the rebellion of the Three Supervisors and the Huai Yi. However, looking at the whole chapter, it first says the Zhou Dynasty was newly built, and King Wu passed away, and then King Cheng succeeded to the throne at a young age. From 'Yue Zi Chun' downwards, it mentions the Three Supervisors and the Huai Yi. Therefore, there should be a full stop after the character 'Jia,' and the character 'Yan' belongs to the previous sentence, which is 'Tian Jiang Ge Yu Wo Jia, Bu Shao Yan, Hong Wei Wo You Chong Ren.' The so-called 'Bu Shao Yan' just says King Wu passed away suddenly..."

Tea was added three times, and the table was full of scrolls.

Liu Zhao, Yu Yuling, and Xie Xinghan had all been stunned!

There is a distance of 1,500 years from the Southern Qi to modern times. During this period, great scholars have emerged one after another, and countless scholars have pushed the research of the *Book of Documents* to a height that the Southern Qi era could not reach at all through long-term discussion and debate.

Coupled with Wang Yang's grasp of the context of academic history, the insights he threw out one by one were key keys to clarifying the puzzles and cases left by the *Book of Documents* learning since the Han Dynasty. How could they not be dazzled and fascinated?

At the beginning, Liu Zhao often had the act of checking books and asking questions, but later it completely turned into Wang Yang's "one-man show"!

And after Wang Yang chatted happily, he did not care whether it could be verified or not. While being rigorous, he also interspersed some strange ideas that were enough to subvert old theories and shock the academic forest, making Liu Zhao listen with great excitement and joy, feeling that he had seen a new world he had never seen before!

Wang Yang took a sip of tea, moistened his throat, and continued to talk freely:

"The *Yu Gong* says 'Sanjiang Ji Ru, Zhen Ze Di Ding.' What are the Three Rivers? From Prince Yuzhang down into Peng Li, east to the sea, is the South River; from Min Mountain, to Jiujiang, Peng Li, into the sea, is the Middle River; from Bozhong flowing east to Han, passing San Shi, Dabie into the river, east gathering into Peng Li, into the sea, is the North River."

Liu Zhao said in surprise: "Young Master Wang is actually also proficient in geography?"

Wang Yang said modestly: "Just understand a little, just understand a little."

"Indeed, just understand a little," a girl's cold voice suddenly came from behind the screen.

Wang Yang was startled. He had been here for so long and didn't know there was someone behind!

Liu Zhao was fully immersed in learning before and forgot that Xie Xinghan was still there. Seeing Wang Yang's surprise, he immediately explained:

"This is the daughter of my good friend. Young Master Wang came too fast earlier, and she couldn't avoid it in time, so she hid behind the screen. Please don't blame her, Young Master."

Yu Yuling suddenly remembered something, looked at the lacquer-painted screen, and his face changed greatly.

Xie Xinghan said: "The waterways Young Master mentioned are roughly the North Han River, the Middle Min River, and the South Prince Yuzhang River. However, if you follow this statement, the Three Rivers gather at Peng Li, merge into one, pass Moling, Jingkou into the sea, and are no longer three. Why does the *Yu Gong* still call the Three Rivers entering the sea separately? Young Master is showing off his talent, but the argument is too far-fetched."

Damn?!

She knows her stuff!!

But what does the thorn in these words mean?

Wang Yang's academic approach usually attaches the most importance to philology, but today he was actually said to be "far-fetched"!

The so-called "far-fetched" is to force an interpretation out of thin air and be far-fetched.

For a scholar, being evaluated as far-fetched is a great shame!

However, this is also Wang Yang's own fault for chatting happily, taking Su Shi's point of view and speaking casually, but not paying attention to the rigor of the argument.

If it were normal, Wang Yang would at most admit that his argument was not very rigorous, but now it won't work.

This time he must overwhelm the audience, otherwise he won't achieve the best effect!

Wang Yang immediately retorted: "Why can't merging into one be called Three Rivers? The river water comes from the west, and when it reaches Jinshan, there is a distinction of three coldness. Those who love good tea value the taste of water, saying that the three coldness are mixed and cannot be deceived, which means that although the water is merged, the taste cannot be separated, so although the river is merged, it can still be separated into three."

"Three coldness? What three coldness, where is the classic?" Xie Xinghan asked.

Wang Yang secretly said he made a slip of the tongue. Three coldness was a statement that only existed when the tea ceremony in the Tang Dynasty was very refined. It was too early to quote it now!

Seeing Wang Yang hesitate to answer, Xie Xinghan frowned, curled her lips, and showed a look of disgust: "You didn't make it up, did you?"

Liu Zhao and Yu Yuling looked at Wang Yang together.

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Note: Wang Yang quoted strange theories repeatedly to shock Liu Zhao, some of which had no real evidence and were just a kind of inference, without verification. However, brilliant inferences are the most moving, regardless of whether they are correct or not. When Qing Dynasty scholars reached a certain level of learning, they had "arbitrary learning." The so-called "arbitrary" is to make a decision in one word without verification, saying that this is correct. It is a kind of intuition cultivated by deep academic training, genius and wonderful understanding, all in the word "decision." For those interested in this, you can read Mr. Chen Yinke's "Side Evidence of the Peach Blossom Spring" or "Reading the Yingying Biography." The conclusions of these two articles may not be correct, but you can feel the charm and brilliance of the inference. ===== CHAPTER 34 =====